Illinois Working for WASH Briefing Prepared for ______

Improving Access to Clean Water Is at the Top of Americans’ Global Health Priorities

People in the state of Illinois are leading the effort to solve the global water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) challenge. There are numerous faith-based, civic, and academic initiatives for WASH underway throughout the state. The top programs in the state include: a) Rotary International, based in Evanston, supports local Rotary Clubs by coordinating global health programs, campaigns, and initiatives. They provide small grants to implement water and sanitation projects, and they partner with USAID, the World Health Organization, the Center for Disease Control, and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation to initiate WASH programs throughout the developing world. b) Northwestern University Engineers Without Borders Chapter partnered with the Illinois- based nonprofit, My Chosen Vessels, to design and build clean water systems in Kenya. c) First United Methodist Church of West Chicago donated 5,000 pairs of shoes to Solea Water, an organization that sells donated shoes and uses the profits to fund clean water projects in Kenya, the Eastern Caribbean, and Latin America. d) Rotary Club of Evanston Lighthouse provided clean drinking water, toilets, showers, and hygiene education to villagers in Kenya and Burkina Faso and 21 schools in Nigeria. e) Lions Club International of Oak Brook launched a campaign to control malaria and trachoma in Ethiopia by improving water and sanitation in rural communities

Other important efforts include:

Rotary Clubs in Illinois  Rotary Club of Evanston o Worked with women in Kenya to make and market liquid soap as an income- generating activity and to promote hygiene in the region o Provided water filters and health education to villages in Guatemala  Rotary Club of Evanston Lighthouse

For more information, please contact John Oldfield at WASH Advocates: 202.293.4049  [email protected]  Updated: December 2015 [Type text] [Type text] [Type text]

o Contributed $30,000 to provide clean drinking water and hygiene education for students in 21 secondary boarding schools in Nigeria o Raised $10,500 to construct water walls for Burkina Faso through Future for Faso Children o Installed two water culverts in Kenya designed to prevent flooding and increase access to water  Rotary Club of Chicago Financial District o Fundraised $26,000 for a Sewer/Sanitation Project that provided a drainage system to 80 homes and 2 schools in rural Mexico  Rotary Club of Sparta and Rotary District 6420 o Partners with Five for Water to fund water projects in Malawi and Honduras  Rotary Club of Naperville o Collaborated with the Rotary Club of St. Charles, Engineers Without Borders, and Dayton Service Engineering Collective to fund a water distribution project in Honduras  Rotary Club of Lake Forest-Lake Bluff o Contributed over $2,500 toward the Well Being project through a partnership with Deer Path Middle School

Faith-Based Organizations in Illinois  St. Ann’s Catholic Church, Barrington o Installed hand pumps and provided hygiene education for 700 women and ex- child soldiers in Sierra Leone with Living Water International  Church of the Brethren, Elgin o Donated $4,800 to Proyecto Aldea Global (PAG) for hygiene kits to be used during disaster responses o Provided hygiene kits to 1,000 families affected by floods and landslides in Afghanistan o Donated hygiene supplies to the Church World Service for areas affected by Cyclone Yvette in the Balkans  Saint Mark Catholic Church, Peoria o Raised $7,000 to support the process of digging sand dams and providing sand filters for clean water in Kenya  The South Church, Mt. Prospect o Fundraises for The Water Project , a nonprofit that implements water projects in Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Burundi, Uganda, Kenya, and South Sudan  Christ Church Lake Forest, Lake Forest o Partnered with International Needs to fund a rainwater harvesting and purification system in Ghana  Willow Creek Community Church, South Barrington o Sponsors multiple WASH projects in Malawi, South Africa, Zambia, Bolivia, Chile, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Costa Rica, and Guatemala

Schools & Universities in Illinois  University of Illinois – Engineers without Borders, Champaign o Installed over 1,000 biosand filters in households in ten communities in Guatemala through the Chichimuch Water Supply Project o Installed a new water system and constructed six latrines in Cameroon to improve community water and sanitation o Created a water distribution system and trained local community members on management and maintenance of the water system in Nigeria  Northwestern University – GlobeMed Chapter, Evanston o Constructed two water harvest tanks and facilitated community education sessions in Uganda o Constructed a compostable latrine for an orphanage in Uganda o Developed a Public Health Awareness campaign to train teachers in Uganda about water and sanitation  Southern Illinois University – Engineers Without Borders, Carbondale o Constructed a new well-protected water system in Honduras  Deer Path Middle School, Lake Forest o Initiated Well Being, a program that raises awareness among students and funds well projects in Africa o Partnered with the Lake Forest-Lake Bluff Rotary Club to fund the Water & Sanitation Rotarian Group, which supported Rotary water and sanitation projects and built wells in Nigeria  Barrington Middle School, Prairie Campus o Raised $5,000 to build a rain catchment tank, new latrines, handwashing stations, and hygiene education at a primary school in India o Raised $8,250 to build a new water well at a school in South Sudan o Raised $5,759 to build a rain catchment tank and new latrines for a primary school in Tanzania

WASH-Focused Organizations in Illinois  Engineers without Borders-USA Chicagoland Professional Chapter o Installed a 55,000 gallon water tank and developed the Hygiene Training Program for 4,000 community members in Honduras o Implemented an improved spring box filter and gravity distribution water storage system in Kenya o Constructed a borehole and a new well to increase village water supply in Burkina Faso  Marion Medical Mission, Marion o Partnered with the Church of Central Africa Presbyterian (CCAP) in Malawi to install wells o Collaborated with the Konde Diocese of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Tanzania (ELCT) to install wells in southern Tanzania o Installed a well with CCAP in the Eastern Province of Zambia

For more information, please contact John Oldfield at WASH Advocates: 202.293.4049  [email protected]  Updated: December 2015